The present invention generally relates to an operations manual editing system, and more particularly to an operations manual editing system which prepares, edits and outputs an operations manual for guiding an operator to enable a host system to execute a desired service function, when a request for the operations manual is made by the operator.
Recent information processing equipment including wordprocessors, information processors, facsimile systems and other office automation systems have come to incorporate various kinds of intelligent service functions and enhanced communication capabilities. However, for using such communication capabilities and service functions of the recent information processing equipment, one must perform a given procedure of service ordering operations which is often complicated and troublesome. To use quickly and properly such capabilities and functions of the recent information processing equipment, it is necessary for an operator to acquire a certain level of experience and knowledge about the hardware itself and the machine operation. And, the operator must become familiar with various kinds of machine operations to use quickly and properly a service function of the recent information processing equipment. Conventionally, an operations manual which is previously prepared and edited to deal with detailed information about the equipment is usually attached to such information processing equipment, enabling an operator to make efficient use of such capabilities and service functions. Therefore, the operator must carefully read or make reference to the operations manual to obtain adequate knowledge concerning the machine operation for a desired service function. However, because various kinds of intelligent functions and capabilities are provided to users and a great volume of an operations manual is often produced, it is difficult for an operator to easily and quickly learn a pertinent machine operation and become familiar with the recent information processing equipment. And, it is difficult to make a full use of the intelligent functions and capabilities of the recent information processing equipment.
Conventionally, the information processing equipment have a "help" function which provides the operator with a guidance information concerning the usage and machine operations on a display screen. When the operator is at a loss, or does not know, how to operate on the terminal for obtaining a desired function, the related information, for example, a guidance text or description to explain the meaning of key commands or the functions assigned to special keys, will appear on the display screen by depressing a specified key like a so-called "help" key on a keyboard. The "help" function, however, merely provides a prepared guidance information which appears on the display screen when the specified key is pressed, regardless of the current operating condition of the equipment. And, only with such a prepared "help" information on the display screen, it is difficult to supply guidance information that is adequate for the every level of skill or proficiency of operators to request a desired function of the information processing equipment easily and quickly.
Japanese Laid-Open Patent Application NO.61-243518 discloses a help guide system which has been proposed for eliminating the above described problem. When a user requests help, the request is analyzed by this help guide system. Display items are selected from a list of help items stored in a storage part on the basis of analyzed information, the list of help items is displayed to an output part. When the user selects each item, the selected item is displayed under the list. Pertinent help information is retrieved by the selected item. If the pertinent help information exists, this list is extracted and displayed on the output part. If the user continues to request help, the selection range is changed by repeating the same procedure. This help information is previously prepared and stored in the storage part for each help item which is expected to be needed by users. And, if pertinent information does not exist, the selection range of the list is changed to a wider range and a help information to be displayed is determined. Japanese Laid-Open Patent Application No.62-262120 discloses a guidance information system which has been proposed for displaying only pertinent and necessary guidance information depending on the frequency of the use by an operator who uses the guidance information system. When the same operator or operators belonging to the same group operates repeatedly at a given number of machine operations, displaying the guidance information on a display screen is inhibited in the next machine operation, so that only a pertinent and necessary information is displayed. Or, when the operator instructs the guidance information system to specify the information to be displayed, only pertinent and specified information is displayed in the subsequent machine operations. However, a set of such guidance information is previously prepared and stored, and only pertinent information is selected from the set of the prepared guidance information to suit the demands from expected users.
In addition, Japanese Laid-Open Patent Application No.63-66623 discloses a help information system. In this help information system, a user information concerning the personal data and the operating history and a system information concerning the environment of system terminals and the operating records are prepared and stored in a storage part. Based on the user information and the system information an efficient output method to supply pertinent help information needed by an operator is selected by this help information system, and the pertinent help information is displayed on an output part by the efficient output method selected. However, also in this system, a set of such help information is previously prepared and stored in the output part, and only pertinent information is selected from the set of the prepared help information to suit the demands from expected users.
Japanese Laid-Open Patent Application No.1-280821 discloses a guide help system which comprises an input part, an output part, amain memory part, an auxiliary memory part and a control part. In this guide help system, when a user has an operating mistake or a trouble during application of an information processor, a guidance of a concrete operating procedure can be retrieved and displayed for execution of a desired process in the application state of that time point. For instance, the user has a question about the producing procedure of a pattern during production of the pattern. In such a case, the guidance can be displayed for the substantial end of production of the pattern at that time point since the pattern is already kept under a production state. Thus, the operating efficiency for the user is improved. The guide help information in such a case is synthesized by this guide help system from a set of prepared guide help messages corresponding to each operating state and to each operation. However, an operating procedure is predetermined and the guide help information is synthesized in accordance with each operating state and each operation in the predetermined operating procedure. The guide help messages are not freely synthesized to suit the procedure of the application program.
However, in the conventional help message functions as disclosed in Japanese Laid-Open Patent Application No.61-243518, Japanese Laid-Open Patent Application No.62-262120 and Japanese Laid-Open Patent Application No.63-66623, pertinent guidance information is selected and outputted in accordance with the level of skill of an operator, but a set of help messages for supplying the help information must be previously prepared and stored in a storage part of the help guidance system. Because pertinent information is selected and outputted from those help messages depending on the level of skill of an operator, it is difficult to meet fully various kinds of the demands from several users. And, in order to meet such various kinds of the user demands, it is necessary for the information processing equipment to have a large capacity of storage devices for storing the help information covering such various kinds of the user demands. Hence, there is a problem in that the cost of manufacturing such information processing equipment with a large capacity of memory devices will become high.
In a case of the guide help system disclosed in Japanese Laid-Open Patent Application No.1-280821, in order to retrieve and display a guidance describing a concrete operating procedure from a state in which the user has an operating trouble during the application of the information processor to a state in which the user can deal with a desired process in the application, the guidance is developed by combining a set of prepared help messages corresponding to each operating state and to each operation. However, an operating procedure is predetermined and the help information is developed in accordance with each operating state and each operation in such preset operating procedure. The guide help messages are not freely developed to suit the procedure of the application program.